Using a G.R.A.P.E.S. Chart to organize information about ancient Civilizations is a useful tool to enhance students' analysis of the characteristics and contributions of a society. Going further and including visuals helps students to better retain the details of each category.
When learning about ancient Civilizations, students may need teachers to provide a variety of resources. The use of diverse resources such as primary sources, videos, songs, readings from textbooks, encyclopedias and literature can be helpful for students to gain an accurate and complete picture of the time period. Students can use graphic organizers to write notes about the different categories as they learn.
Teachers may wish for students to work together on this lesson which is possible with Storyboard That's Real Time Collaboration feature! With Real Time Collaboration, students can work on the same storyboard at the same time which is perfect for this lesson! As teachers know, collaborating on assignments allows students to think on a deeper level while increasing their communication and problem-solving skills. Collaboration can also help cut down on the time it takes to complete a storyboard. While there is no set limit to the number of users who can work on a storyboard at once, we recommend five users or fewer for optimal performance. All of our assignments default to individual. To make this lesson collaborative, teachers must enable collaboration for the assignment within the "Edit Assignment" tab.
Students will then create a spider map focusing on Achievements of Ancient Mesopotamia in art, architecture, technologies, writing, etc. using the template in Storyboard That and creating illustrations and descriptions to demonstrate what they’ve learned.
By focusing on just one category, students are encouraged to include more information and should complete 3-6 cells. Students can come together after they’ve created their storyboards to share what they’ve learned. The full G.R.A.P.E.S. Chart can be used as a post assessment after students have presented.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map focusing on the different achievements of ancient Mesopotamia in art, architecture, technology and/or writing.
Student Instructions:
Requirements: Minimum of 3-6 cells showcasing the various achievements of ancient Mesopotamia. Appropriate scenes to illustrate each cell. 1-3 sentence description for each cell demonstrating your understanding.
Begin the lecture by introducing all the achievements of the Ancient Mesopotamian civilization such as the architecture, scientific inventions and discoveries, laws, and systems. Since Mesopotamia was the first civilization in the world, it was responsible for many significant contributions and inventions that formed the foundation for an advanced world. Students can discuss these contributions one by one.
Ask the students to examine the relevance of Ancient Mesopotamian achievements in the modern world. For instance, students can research topics like the significance of architecture in today’s world or the use of maths and astronomy in advanced studies and inventions. Students will also be able to learn the origin and foundation of these sciences due to this research.
Briefly introduce students to other civilizations that existed after or at a similar time to the Ancient Mesopotamian civilization. This will help them analyze the pattern of achievements and find out the interconnectedness if any. Students can do these comparisons with the help of visual organizers such as Venn diagrams or spider webs.
Teachers can dedicate a particular day to the achievements of Ancient Mesopotamia. Students can select one topic and perform detailed research on that topic, prepare presentations or posters, and even dress up as any part of their research topic. On the day of the presentation, students can discuss their findings through an engaging presentation and props with their classmates.
Ask the students to reflect on all the information and insights they have gained so far and prepare a short summary of what they learned through these discussions and activities. Students can also give feedback and suggest any other activities they would like to perform in order to enhance their learning experience.
The Ancient Mesopotamian civilization made many important contributions in the fields of Maths, Astronomy, Writing, Architecture, and agriculture.
Record-keeping, communication, and maintaining these records were all made possible by Cuneiform. It also acted as a building block for the future and many other writing systems to come afterwards.
City-states with sophisticated urban planning, ziggurats, and religiously significant temple constructions are examples of Mesopotamian architectural accomplishments.
The wheel, the use of bronze, and complex irrigation systems are just a few examples of the technical advances that ancient Mesopotamia brought forth.